Panaji: A day after the Union environment ministry issued a draft notification proposing the declaration of 108 villages in Goa as Western Ghats ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs), spread across 1,461sqkm, chief minister Pramod Sawant said there remains scope for the state to submit objections.Sawant said the final notification would be issued only after Goa is heard, and urged people not to “misunderstand” the draft.“This is a draft notification. Do not create confusion unnecessarily. They will give us a hearing and only after that a final notification will be issued,” Sawant said.This is the fifth draft notification issued by Union govt. An earlier draft in Aug 2024 also proposed 108 villages as ESAs. In July 2022, the ministry proposed 99 Goa villages as ESAs. In June 2024, it acknowledged discrepancies between the plan and the villages listed in the draft and said they would be rectified.In 2024, Goa govt urged Centre to drop around 21 villages from the prospective list, seeking a total of 87 ESA villages. Earlier, it had sought to drop 47 villages.The identified villages are in the talukas of Sattari, Canacona, Dharbandora and Sanguem. In its letter to the environment ministry, Goa govt said many villages it wants excluded have major and minor minerals, with leases backed by valid environmental clearance.
